The phone that scooped the “Best in Show” award at this year's Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, the Nokia PureView 808, is now available in SA through Vodacom.
The PureView 808 runs the Symbian Belle platform and has a four-inch screen, with 512MB RAM and a 1.3GHz single-core processor. The handset has an HD 640x360 display. The handset's most compelling feature is its high-res 41MP sensor - the highest ever seen in a smartphone. The camera lens was co-developed by Nokia and Carl Zeiss.
Explaining how the PureView technology works, Nokia says it is not about taking images the size of billboards, but rather creating higher quality pictures at normal sizes that are manageable for a smartphone.
As explained by Nokia's Ian Delaney: “The technology means that taking typically-sized shots (say, five megapixels) the camera can use oversampling to combine up to seven pixels into one 'pure' pixel, eliminating the visual noise found on other mobile phone cameras.”
Ovum principal analyst Tony Cripps says the PureView 808 offers “perhaps the most compelling photographic experience yet seen in a smartphone” and is sure to appeal to specialist buyers.
“Ovum's main concern is that the PureView 808's Symbian Belle operating system might detract from its appeal to a broader market, where it deserves recognition,” says Cripps.
“It's a pity that Nokia was unable to combine the photographic prowess of the PureView 808 with the style of the Lumia 900. Such a device may well have been the first smartphone to truly deserve the title of 'superphone'.”
The Nokia PureView 808 will be available from Vodacom on a 24-month Business Call contract at R399 per month. The contract package includes 250MB of data per month for 24 months. The recommended selling price on prepaid is R7 999 - prepaid pricing may vary at the retail outlets.
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